Broken Journey to the Heart
by Dreamlover1102
Summary: A trip to Ireland has the Club discovering long forgotten roots. In the midst of all the excitement the club members meet two strange witches and Cassie finds a Book of Shadows. Bonds are broken, friendships are tested, and a new evil arises. N/C pairing
1. A Decision Made is a Journey Gained

**Broken Journey to the Heart**

**Disclaimer: We do not own Secret Circle or the characters in it...although we do have a friend name Nick who reminds us ALOT of Nick in Secret Circle...hmmm....**

**A/N: Ok, I'm seriously disgusted by the lack of Secret Circle fanfictions and more disgusted with the few Nick and Cassie pairings out there. Adam is too...boy scout for me and Nick is all...dark and mysterious...and sexy...and I'm done rambling now. So, I'm co-writing this with my cousin. She's my muse/beta and she's also a fantastic writer. There's some Adam/Cassie fluff in the beginning but don't fret my faithful shippers, this **_**IS**_** a Nick and Cassie pairing. Sit back, read and enjoy. Oh, and people might be a little OOC. I haven't read the books in a while. I'm sorry if anyone seems out of character. We'll try our best to write in character as much as we can.**

**Chapter one:**

Diana's living room was warm and cozy. The scent of the lavender incense burning on an end table filled the room, bringing about a comforting peace to the teenagers gathered around. Diana sat on her couch, listening intently to Melanie as she talked about school starting in just a few weeks. The Henderson brothers played Sean and Deb in partnered poker on the floor, identical grins of triumph making them look even more evil then usual. Laurell and Susan argued from the kitchen over about whether carrots and dip or cookies as snacks. It didn't take a genius to figure out who was on which side.

Cassie set her phone down.

"Adam said he's a block away and he'll be here in a second." She said in a low voice, her mind still on their conversation. She was slightly apprehensive about the mystery surrounding this gathering. Adam wasn't giving in, no matter her cajoling, and letting her in on the big secret.

Just then there was a knock at the door. Assuming it was Adam, Cassie hurried down the small hall to answer it.

"Hey...Nick." The smile froze on her face. His mouth and eyes tightened at her reaction, or rather lack thereof. "Sorry, just thought you were someone else."

"Conant?" He questioned tensely.

"Yeah. I'm sorry." He watched her silently for a moment. Then he took a deep breath and relaxed, offering her a rare almost-smile.

"Don't worry about it, Cassie." He walked past her and joined the others in the living room. She followed him, taking the love seat between his chair and Diana's couch. Another knock woke her from her reverie.

"Cassie. Would you get that please?" Cassie nodded, standing again. Opening the door, her eyes caught those colored with the darkest depths of the ocean.

"Hey." Adam smiled, leaning down to capture her lips, and pulling her into a hug. Her arms snaked around him, leaning into the kiss.

"Out of my way." Faye's voice broke through Adam and Cassie's reunion. They blushed and moved away. Faye flicked back her long, raven locks and went inside. Cassie giggled lightly as her and Adam walked in, closing the door behind them.

"Everyone here?" Laurell called from the kitchen.

"Yeah." Cassie called back.

Susan and Laurell came out the kitchen carrying trays of cookies, veggies, juice, and soda. They set them down on the coffee table and people began to dig in. After a few minutes, Deb spoke up.

"So you called a meeting. What's up? Davy Jones' in town?" She asked sarcastically, catching Adam's eye. Adam took his arm from around Cassie to reach into a bag he was carrying. He pulled out his Book of Shadows.

"This." He spoke.

"What about it?" Faye asked, putting another dark red coat on her already perfect nails.

Adam sat down on the love seat, his arm automatically going around Cassie's waist as she joined him. The rest of the group moved closer so they could listen to whatever Adam needed to say. Some more excited than others.

"I was reading my Book of Shadows and I noticed that a certain place in Ireland was mentioned quite a bit. It's mentioned as a place of power. A lot of ancient magic lingers around the island and I got an idea. Why don't we all go there? We still have time to take a trip out there before school, and with the defeat of Black John, it'd be great to get away and take a vacation. What do you guys think?" Adam replied, his voice calm but his eyes belying his excitement.

Doug and Chris jumped up, spilling chips all over the floor.

"I think that's the coolest idea you've ever came up with!" Doug responded, his face lighting up.

"Not that your other ideas were bad or anything but this one actually sounds fun!" Chris added, actually making what Doug said seem nice while making his addition sound worse. Cassie shook her head, smiling. The Hendersons would never change.

"I think this is great." Diana smiled excitedly.

"Place of power? It almost makes up for the fact that I'll be stuck with you losers for the entire time. Of course, I always did love a delicious Irish accent on a man." Faye licked her lips, amber eyes dancing.

The rest agreed whole-heartedly, Melanie already talking about the various land-marks and historical sites in different parts of Ireland. Cassie glanced over at the silent part of the room, taking in Nick's slouched figure.

"What do you think, Nick?" She asked. The others stopped talking and looked at him. If he was uncomfortable with all the focus on him, he didn't show it.

"Sounds cool to me." His voice was steady, but Cassie saw the small hint of excitement in his eyes.

"Good. Then it's settled. I was thinking about leaving this weekend. Flights shouldn't be hard to figure it out. I'll call the airport on the mainland. Is that alright with everyone?" Adam asked.

This time everyone agreed right away.

...........................

Cassie busied herself around her room, packing things she would need, and things she wanted. Her mother stood in the doorway, a small smile playing on her lips.

"You'd think you were going away forever with all that stuff." Her mother laughed, referring to the suitcase.

"You never know what you're going to need until you need it. You taught me that. And I haven't even packed my carry-on." She replied, grinning at her mom. She was so excited about this trip. Watching her mother laugh, Cassie held back the tears of joy that threatened. It was so good to see her mom up and about. After Black John was defeated, Cassie's mom had slowly became more and more lively.

The thought of Black John slowed her progress. The fact that someone so evil was responsible for half of her being around was enough to stop anyone in their tracks. _Except maybe Faye_, she thought ruefully. She still wasn't sure how she felt about it quite yet. Sighing, she turned her thoughts to happier things. Like a trip to Ireland with her best friends.

Her mother shook her head and went to start dinner.

Cassie flickered back and forth around her room until she was certain she packed everything she needed. She had to push down on the top just to zip it closed. She tested the bag by lifting it and nearly troppled over.

"I'm going to have to have someone help me with that. This thing is heavy." She mused aloud.

"I'll get it." A voice at the door said. Cassie turned her head so fast she winced. Nick leaned casually against the door frame.

Nick Armstrong was gorgeous, no use in denying it. He wore his usual outfit. Dark jeans, a white t-shirt, and his leather jacket. It was intimidating as it was alluring and Cassie had to look away for a second.

"That'd be nice. Thank you. What brings you here?" She asked, looking back at him once she got her thoughts in order. She loved Adam so she shouldn't be thinking about Nick. She had hurt Nick enough.

He entered her room, sitting on the very edge of her bed.

"Deborah wanted to know if you knew why Conant really wanted to go to Ireland." He replied, looking casually around the room. His face was unreadable as always and Cassie found that unnerving. He was usually a little more open when it was just them and it almost felt like she was just another person in the group. The he caught her gaze and half-smiled, making her relax. Though she really didn't understand why, if she truly was in love with Adam.

"He said as much to me as he did to the rest of us. I think he just wants to go because of the power there. My Book of Shadows talks about Ireland too." She said, her voice slightly annoyed. Why would Deborah think that there was more to it? Adam would have said as much.

"Deb gets suspicious of everything. You know how she is." Nick replied. He turned toward Cassie when she sat next to him. His face was blank but his eyes were slightly worried. She smiled.

"Yeah I suppose." Cassie answered, her eyes traveling away from Nick and out into the hall.

Nick stood and started walking toward the hallway. He turned in the doorway to say bye when Cassie realized she didn't really want him to go. She rationalized with herself it was because he was her friend and she hadn't seen much of him lately.

"Hey, you want to stay for dinner? My mom is making an actual meal tonight and that doesn't happen very often. It's bound to be awful but I'm just happy she's back to herself again." Her voice wavered at the end, and Nick walked over to lay a hand on her shoulder.

"Yeah, sure." He spoke softly. Cassie gave him an unsteady smile and they ventured down the stairs and into the kitchen.

...........................

**A/N: So what did you think? Good? Bad? Ugly? Totally awesome and you can't wait for the next chapter?? But no really, Review PLEASE!!!!!**


	2. We're off to Emerald City!

**Broken Journey to the Heart**

**A/N: Hey everyone! I apologize for the chapter delay. Originally my cousin was suppose to write this chapter but her computer is down for the time being and I'm taking over until she can get her computer up and running again. Also to those of you who reviewed- BIG THANK YOU! I love reviews. Who doesn't? Lol Anyways, I don't always give individual shout outs because I don't like long author notes but if If there are questions or anything that I want to answer, I will.**

**  
Isabella Estates: Thanks so much! I have noticed that alot of writers don't like cronstructive critisim but I don't mind at all. That just helps me become a better writer. I love your story. You are a much better writer than me. I promise to take your thoughts into consideration, and I hope to make this a better chapter. Let me know what you think and thank you for your review!**

Disclaimer: We don't own Secret Circle Series...if we did, she wouldn't have ended up with Adam. Tehee.

Chapter Two:

The morning started of peacefully. Cassie showered, threw on some clothes she had set out the night before, and went downstairs for breakfast. Her mother was rushing around the kitchen, cutting vegatables and throwing them into the pan. Cassie stood back in silence for a moment, observing in silence.

"Mom, why are you in such a hurry?" She asked, tilting her head curiously.

Her mom turned to her and sighed.

"I'm just...I'm going to miss you. The house will be so lonely while you're gone." Her mother replied, casting a glance of pure longing at the chair where her grandma had once sat.

"I know. Don't worry, I'm only going to be gone for two weeks." Cassie supplied, trying to ease her mother's worry. She came around the table and gave her mom a hug.

"What am I going to do while you're gone?" Her mother asked, her voice strained.

Cassie pulled back and smiled.

"You can always go stay with Melanie's aunt." Cassie laughed when her mom looked less than impressed by this suggestion.

"Not that I'm not grateful to her, just that, well..." Her mother trailed off.

"I know." Came the amused reply from her teenage daughter.

**..........................................**

br The morning went by quickly. Soon it was time to leave for the airport. Cassie allowed that her mom drive her to Gate 6 to meet the others, so they could spend more time together before she left. However, it wasn't until after she had slid the suitcase down the stairs that she remembered how heavy it was.

"Great." She muttered.

Sigh. "Let me get it."

Cassie jumped and flicked her head towards the door. Nick stood next to her mom, his face blank, though her mom's smile was sure wide enough..

"You got a stalker complex," Cassie mumbled as he kneeled next to her to zip up one of the front pockets on the bag.

"I said I'd come help you with this. Jeeze, thinking of not coming home?" Nick said as he hefted the suitcase over his shoulder. Cassie quietly grumbled out her thanks, annoyed that he was able to lift it without any trouble.

Once they were at the car, he set it in the back and stood aside so Cassie could get in.

"I'll see you there." Cassie said, waving to him as he walked to his car. He lifted one hand as he walked away, waving in a way that only he could make look cool.

"He's such a nice boy." Her mother commented an offhand way.

"Yeah, I know," she whispered, watching Nick drive off down Crowhaven road. She missed the smile of knowing that passed over her mother's face.

After a tearful goodbye with her mom, she walked through the door and gasped. The airport was surprisingly crowded and she had to push past people to get to her friends. Once there, she laughed out loud at the sight before her. It was the typical Club doing typical Club things.

Faye was frowning as Sean tried, with difficultly, to pull and lift Faye's things. The Henderson brothers were being chased by security, passing by Cassie in a rush while throwing their hellos over their shoulders. Adam was speaking to Diana so she headed toward them.

"...Not that I don't agree with you, Adam, but..." Diana trailed off when she saw Cassie approaching.

"Cassie! There you are!" She exclaimed, rushing over to her and pulling her into a hug.

Cassie grinned, meeting Adam's eyes over Diana's slender shoulder. He grinned back, waiting patiently for his turn to hug her.

"I was just talking about you. I was worried you were running late," Diana said as Cassie and Adam pulled away from one another.

"I almost was but Nick came to the rescue. I was having trouble lifting my suitcase." Cassie answered while looking around for her things. Fear entered the pit of her stomach.

"Oh no! I must of forgot it in the car!" Cassie was wildly looking about her, realizing that all she had with her was the dark blue carry-on. She spotted the Henderson brothers walking towards them, dragging a blue suitcase behind them and Cassie heaved a sigh of relief.

"Cassie, you're mom said you forgot this." Doug said, pulling and tugging the handle.

"What the hell did you pack!?" Chris grunted, pushing the other side to help his brother.

"Thank you, guys!" She laughed. Adam walked past her and lifted her bag. She gave each of the brothers a hug.

"Why was security chasing you two?" She asked Chris curiously.

"Me and Doug changed clothes a few times and went through the metal detector." He answered with a shrug. Cassie looked at him blankly.

"Do I even want to ask why?"

"We wanted to see how much they were actually paying attention. We got passed them three times before they finally caught on." Doug turned to his twin. "I told you we should have done something with our faces that last time. So we didn't look so much alike." Cassie stepped back before she got caught before one the Henderson's infamous fights broke out between the two of them.

Cassie joined Adam by their small pile of belongings, while Diana went to sit with Laurel and Melanie.

"Alone at last," Adam muttered into Cassie's hair as he swooped her into his arms. Cassie melted into him, breathing in his scent, and sighing. They broke apart to kiss, Cassie on her tip toes to reach him. They stopped for air and took a seat next to Deborah, who seemed, for Deb, to be frantically searching the airport, eyes sweeping over people's heads.

"What's wrong, Deb?" Cassie asked, concerned.

"I haven't seen Nick yet." She answered. Susan rushed towards them, from the huge mass of people near a large counter.

"He isn't at the check in place. I hope he's here." She gushed out in worry. Deborah stood and took a step, then heaved a sigh.

"There he is." She said, pointing to the figure walking toward them with a look of slight annoyance.

He made his way toward Deborah when she waved him over.

"Where the hell were you?" She asked when he reached her. He shifted his weight and set his luggage down.

"The pansy with the badge up front gave me trouble." He murmured. Cassie giggled, and Adam cleared his throat.

Nick looked over at Cassie, giving her his almost-smile. He met Adam's eyes briefly before glancing away. Cassie felt Adam stiffen, and looked between the boys. She mentally sighed.

Faye sauntered over, Sean trailing behind her.

"How much longer?" She asked, flicking her hair over her shoulder.

"Good question," Adam replied, glancing down at his watch, "We should be boarding soon."

Faye let out annoyed sigh and sat beside Deborah and Susan. Doug and Chris wandered over, taking seats next to Melanie. Sean sat on the otherside of Adam.

**......................................**

They all talked amongst themselves. Each of them restless to get going. Faye tapped her foot impatiently. After what felt like hours a voice came over the intercom.

"Flight 130 to Dublin, Ireland is now boarding."

Faye leaped to her feet in a huff, and the rest of the group began to stand. Cassie let out a cheer, a burst of excitment making it's way into her system.

After twenty minutes, the group was settled in their seats, their carry-ons stuffed above their heads. Cassie found herself seated in between Adam and Nick, which she found rather ironic. Diana had sat with Laurel and Melanie in the seats in front of them. To Cassie's displeasure, Faye and the Henderson brothers were seated behind her. She knew as soon as the brothers realized how boring the trip was the first thing they would do was mess with the person seated in front of them. She knew that Nick and Adam could handle them. But nobody would ever be able to handle Faye Chamberlain. Deborah had managed to snag a spot to herself, giving the stewardess a typical Deb look when she said she couldn't have her feet on the empty seat in front of her. Susan found herself between Sean and an attractive young man that none of them knew.

Cassie leaned back in her chair, her book propped up in her lap. The flight attendant had said that it would be twelve hours until they touched down in Ireland.

_'I can't wait to get there. Thank you Adam for suggesting this. This is exactly what everyone needed.'_ She thought to herself.

As she looked around the group, she had to smile. The Club members were all talking amongst themselves, their eyes lit up in barely contained excitement, each of them laughing or smiling. Even Nick, leaning back in his seat on her left, seemed relaxed and almost peaceful. His eyes were closed and his headphones blared music, giving him a look of contentment.

During Black John's small reign of terror, everyone had been anxious, frustrated, and frightened. After Black John was been defeated, there was still the lingering doubt, and sadness. Now, though, everyone was returning to their natural state of mind and basically, acting like the teenagers they were.

Adam leaned over and kissed Cassie's cheek. She grinned and reached for his hand, taking it into her small one. She leaned toward him.

"This was a great idea, Adam. I'm so glad you suggested it."

He smiled and kissed her lips gently.

"Me too," he whispered.

She leaned her head onto his shoulder and her eyes drifted shut.

**....................................**

Something was bumping against her seat. Cassie stirred. The bumping continued, and Cassie opened her eyes.

"About time you woke up. The pilot said we're almost there." Said Faye's voice from behind her.

Cassie turned to Adam, only to realize he wasn't there.

"He went to use the bathroom." Nick answered her unspoken question when she turned her head toward him. Cassie nodded. She bent down to pick up her book that had fallen to the floor.

"Scrying?" Nick leaned over to look at the cover.

"Oh...yeah. I was hoping to try it when we got to Ireland." Nick nodded, settling back in his chair.

"You could probably ask Melanie about pendulum scrying. I've seen her do some pretty crazy stuff. Faye used to be really into fire scrying until she became more into the 'now' rather than in the past and future. Diana has been trying for years to water scry, but I don't know if she's succeeded yet." Cassie watched him in awe, realizing for perhaps the first time how observant he was of the people around him. She had an almost unshakeable urge to question him about what he thought about her. Despite this, she was silent, allowing him to continue.

"I dabbled in divination for a couple years, up until I met you, actually." He stopped there, noticing her unwavering gaze.

"Why?" She couldn't prevent herself from blurting. He raised an eyebrow and opened his mouth. "I mean why did you stop when you met me?"

He started to say something, then stopped. Finally he shrugged.

"Got a weird reading from my deck of Tarot, so I told myself that it wasn't possible and haven't touched them since. Stopped everything. Seemed like a good idea." He didn't elaborate and Cassie, no matter the urge deep in her gut, didn't press.

"Finally awake, sleepy-head?" Adam's voice made her realize how close she and Adam were, but she didn't jump away as she might have before talking to him. Instead she slowly pulled away and smiled up at Adam.

"I can't believe I slept almost the whole way." She said as he sat next to her.

He chuckled. "You might want to let Nick go to the bathroom. He didn't want to wake you up so he could get passed you." She nodded and stood so Nick could slip passed them. She heard him curse at one the twins as they tried to trip him on his way by.

"What were you two talking about?" Adam asked curiously.

"Scrying." She murmured around a yawn. She reached her hands out for the bag he handed her as he grabbed both of their carry-ons from up top. She clutched it to her chest as the plane shook in preparation to land.

An hour and a half later Cassie realized that leaving the Hendersons with no one to babysit them was a slightly bad idea. She roped Deb and Melanie into helping her control them and seperate them. Then she did her part by hustling everyone as quickly as possible through baggage reclaim and getting their tickets checked. The boys couldn't cause trouble if they were on the move. At least she hoped that theory was true.

Soon enough they were boarding a honest-to-god double decker bus with the twins and Deb, of all people, vying for the front seats at the very top.

Riding a bus a bunch of teenage boys was only made better by riding a bus with teenage boys and about fifty people, only half of whom spoke English, seeing as they were all tourists. After the fifth person who asked her where they were in another tongue, she finally turned her attention to the person left sitting next to her.

Suzan, however, was paying more attention to the very same boy she had spent the trip sitting next to. Bright green hair made him stick out like a sore thumb, even amongst all the tourists.

"Welcome to the Glasnevin Maples Hotel. We hope all who are leaving us now enjoy their stay in Dublin, Ireland." The voice over the intercom was thickly accented, but also easily understood. Cassie stood when the bus pulled to a stop and made her way to the stairs to get the first floor of the bus. Just as she reached the stairs, she bumped into someone and looked up to see the same guy who had been talking to Suzan.

"Hey." He said charmingly, a west-coast accent tinting his voice. "Name's Chase Ryder. What's yours?" She blinked in alarm, glancing around them for her group. The only one nearby was Nick.

"Cassie Blake." She said hurriedly, waving Nick over. "This is Nick Armstrong. You were sitting with one of our group, Suzan."

"Great to meet you. Maybe I'll see you and your group around." He winked at her and nodded at Nick, walking away just as the dark-haired boy reached them.

"Who was that?" Nick asked evenly.

"Guy who was with us on the bus." He shrugged, grabbing her suitcase from her. "On the plus side, he spoke English." She laughed.

"Chase Ryder." She said suddenly.

"What?"

"That's what his name was; Chase Ryder." He shrugged again and they left to join the others.

**AN: So, mission complete, sorta. This is Tai again. She started this chapter off and I edited and continued it. I know the ending wasn't that great. I just really wanted to introduce Chase, cause you will probably love him as much as we do. So, look out for the next chapter, since they finally made it to Ireland.**

Anyway, I'll let you all go. Hope you enjoyed the chapter. Hit us up and let us know what you think. We adore reviews, no matter what they say.

Tai and Dreamer


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